Obviously Pirate wannabes without eye patches or swords giving us a bad reputation.

NAIROBI, Kenya - Somali pirates hijacked a Jordanian ship Saturday in the latest in a string of attacks off the lawless Somali coast, the head of a seafarer's association said.

Andrew Mwangura of the East Africa Seafarers Assistance Program said the attack occurred early Saturday morning. He could not say how many crew were aboard, but said Kenyans, Tanzanians and some Asians were among them. The pirates seized the ship not far from the Somali capital of Mogadishu and were taking it north, he said.

Peter Smerdon, spokesman for the World Food Program, said the ship had been due to unload its commercial cargo of sugar in Somalia before returning to Kenya and picking up WFP supplies for Somalia.

Sat Sep 27, 2:04 AM ETAnother Greek chemical tanker with 19 crew on board has been hijacked by armed Somali pirates in the notorious Gulf of Aden, a maritime watchdog reported Saturday...Last weekend a Greek-owned ship with 19 sailors on board, most of them Filipinos, was seized while a Malta-flagged Iranian oil tanker - a massive vessel the size of a football pitch - had a narrow escape after being pursued by pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades. On September 18 the Greek ship "Centauri," with 25 Filipino sailors on board was attacked off Somalia by pirates in a speed boat, armed with three rocket launchers. Somali pirates, who are now holding a record 15 ships hostage, including Friday's hijacked tanker, are attacking further out to sea and on two fronts to evade international security...warning seafarers to be on alert even if sailing in the security corridor patrolled by US-led coalition forces... since January Somali pirates have attacked 62 ships, with more than 300 crew held hostage on board the 15 ships under the pirates' control. A Russian warship was headed for the seas off Somalia Saturday after pirates seized a Ukrainian freighter carrying 33 tanks, munitions and other weaponry, officials said. The waters off Somalia - which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity - are considered to be among the most dangerous in the world.

A tense standoff has developed in waters off Somalia over an Iranian merchant ship laden with a mysterious cargo that was hijacked by pirates. Somali pirates suffered skin burns, lost hair and fell gravely ill “within days” of boarding the MV Iran Deyanat. Some of them died...

Is the subject "Labour protection" included in the curricula of piratical schools?

A tense standoff has developed in waters off Somalia over an Iranian merchant ship laden with a mysterious cargo that was hijacked by pirates. Somali pirates suffered skin burns, lost hair and fell gravely ill “within days” of boarding the MV Iran Deyanat. Some of them died...

Is the subject "Labour protection" included in the curricula of piratical schools?

Yesterday Bulgaria's President, Georgi Parvanov decorated one of the Godfathers of the Bulgarian mafia, lawyer Todor Batkov, with Stara Planina Order 1st Class (very symptomatic photo – http://topsport.ibox.bg/news/id_15578503 ). In connection with that, I wrote in the site of the Bulgarian Pastafarian Church and in e-mail to the Mr. President ( http://www.president.bg/en/contacts.php ) the next text:

"Somalia has the highest number of pirates and the lowest carbon emissions of any country. Is it coincidence? Ho-ho! We expect to see a considerable drop in temperature worldwide when the widespread pirate activity will taking place. We do not consider ourselves sea bandits; we consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard and protectors of the nature and the harmony! I suggest decorate the most notable Somali pirates with Stara Planina Order 1st Class (the highest state distinction of Republic of Bulgaria) for their patronizing of the cultural and historical heritage and the divine legislation and for the creation of new monuments along with their large-scale donations and their merits to stop global warming through their piracy activities and for the dedicatedly supporting of Euroatlantic integration of Bulgaria!!!"